A Fifth Dimension:Guide to Layout
A Fifth Dimension's Guide to Layout is an in-depth description about how to lay out an article. It is not a guide for or a Manual of Style; it is simply a summary of how to create a well-organized article. Think of the Guide to Layout as a guide for putting together a birdhouse and the Manual of Style as a guide for how to paint it. General details Paragraph and sentence length It is always a good idead to keep paragraphs as short as possible. Long paragraphs make it difficult for readers to skim the article and helps to keep one's eyes from glossing over. Similarly, extremely long sentences should be avoided. As a general rule, articles on this wiki should use only the amount of writing necessary to thoroughly cover all of the relevant material; saying a lot without using a lot of words to do it. Keeping an article's length short is not always achievable because some articles will always require a lot of information to be provided, but being concise should be a relative goal in writing and editing articles. Headers Headers are a useful way to divide the content of an article into appropriate parts (see ), and will create a Table of Contents for easy navigation after three headings are placed. While helpful, you should always consider whether the number of headers will clutter the article. Also, one-sentence and one-paragraph section should be avoided when possible. See if the content of the section would just as well fit into another section instead or consider using a bullet list to illustrate brief points. Article framework Header flags Certain flags are helpful in categorizing articles and assist in immediate identification of an article type. These should be placed in the first line of the article—looking best when it appears on it's own line in the markup—as needed. *Any article that is written from the "real world" perspective requires a template flag to be added as the first line of any such article. :*Typical articles needing this flag will be those about cast, crew, and existing organizations, locations, and products. :*Articles about stories, comic issues, and episodes will also require this flag because the majority of the page is written from a "real world" perspective and only the plot summary is written from an "in-universe" point of view. :*Policy articles, although written from a "real world" POV, do not require the flag, because their status is defined by the policy template. *Any article written that contains documentation of A Fifth Dimension's Guidelines and Policies should be flagged with the template. This, of course, should not be used on character, story, location, or any other type of article pages. *Extremely rarely, the flag may be added on articles about new and upcoming releases. Visit the template's page for details about use. Introductory material Start your article by strongly emphasizing the subject of your text. This serves to highlight what your article is about, making the subject as clear as possible for the reader's benefit. If the article is several paragraphs long (or more), it's best to keep the first paragraph as short and succinct as possible, with a clear explanation of what the article is about. This introductory text should not be titled with a header, but immediately follow the aticle title (except when certain flags are used, of course). By allowing the opening paragraph(s) to go without a header, a Table of Contents is generated directly after the introduction. The introduction helps to provide a context for the Table of Contents. Main article structure Following the article introduction should be the section that will discuss the subject of the article in detail. All sections of the main article should have their own headers. Lead section This will be the bulk of the article. It should contain a thorough and concise overview of the article's subject. In episode articles, this would include a detailed plot summary and sub-sections for "Opening Narration" and "Closing Narration" but may also include other related sections such as "Intermission Narration" or "Preview of Next Week's Episode" or "Title Sequences" if applicable. Background information Further information about the subject, originating from interviews, episode guides, technical manuals, encyclopedias, novels, etc.. Trivia, when properly referenced, may be added but speculation should be avoided and saved for either the article's Talk page or the Forum. References If you used a resource outside of the stories (e.g., The Twilight Zone Companion) to help write your article, it should be cited, not only to provide credit for the information, but so that other readers may consult that resource if they wish to find more information. Use a basic bullet list layout, and try to include the ISBN number for books. :Example: :*Martin Grams. The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090 (paperback, 2008). :*Bill DeVoe. Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360 (paperback, March 6, 2008). See also This section is for articles that are related to the current one. External links If you know of any external websites that you believe are useful to the reader who is interested in more information on the subject, include them here in list form. You should describe external links whenever possible to give the reader some idea of why it might be useful. :Example: :*The Twilight Zone Archives - Stewart Stanyard's website has a vast collection of rare behind-the-scenes photographs and information, interviews, episode guides, prop details, and more. Exceptions While the basic article layout provides a general "how-to" guide for laying out any article, some types of articles have their own layout variations. For information on these layouts, please see A Fifth Dimension:Article templates. Category:A Fifth Dimension Guidelines